Sri Lanka Army - Equipment

Equipment

In the 1980s, the army expanded its range of weapons from the original stock of World War II-era British Lee Enfield rifles, Sten Submachine guns, Vickers machine guns, Bren machine guns, 6-inch coastal guns, Daimler Armoured Cars, Bren Gun Carriers, 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, 3.7 inch heavy anti-aircraft guns and 4.2-inch heavy mortars as well as post war Alvis Saladins, Alvis Saracen, Ferrets and Shorland S55s. New sources of weaponry in the mid-to-late 1970s included the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and China – countries with which the leftist Bandaranaike government had close ties. China continued to be an important source of arms well into the 1990s.

To meet the threat posed by predominantly the LTTE, Army purchased modern military hardware including 50-caliber heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, Night Vision Devices, 106 mm recoilless rifles, 60 mm and 81 mm mortars, 40 mm grenade launchers and some sniper rifles. Refurbished armored personnel carriers were added to the 'A' vehicle fleet of the 1st Reece Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. These APCs enabled the Armoured Corps to have their own assault troops to provide close contact protection to their Alvis Saladin and Ferret Scout Cars which were vulnerable to anti-tank weapons. The capability of the Sri Lanka Artillery was enhanced with the introduction of Ordnance QF 25 pounders. Chinese-made 122 mm, 130 mm and 152 mm howitzers were introduced to the Sri Lankan Army in 1995 and 1998 whilst 122 mm Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL), were first used in 2000 by the Sri Lanka Army.

Though the weapons were obsolete at the time of purchase, the Government security forces found them to be successful in combat. Land mines proved to be the most lethal threat to the security forces, as many mines have been deployed against government forces by the LTTE in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. These mines were deployed with normalcy against government trucks and buses, with a high rate of casualty. These land mines weighed approximately 50 – 100 kg, against which no armoured vehicle that the SLA possessed was able to withstand the blast effect. Therefore the South African made Buffel was introduced to service in 1985 to reduce damage due to land mines. By 1987 the Army's own Unicorn was also developed to a level so that they too matched the capabilities of the Buffels from South Africa, this was followed up by the newer Unibuffel class. Both the Unicorn and the Unibuffel are assembled by the Sri Lanka Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has become increasingly reliant on China for weapons. This is due to most European nations and the United States Governments passing regulations about the selling of weaponry to nations which are suffering from internal conflict. However in light of recent attacks by the LTTE, the United States has expressed its intent to maintain military training assistance and possibly increase it should the violence continue.

Sri Lanka also continues to receive a variety of weapons from Britain, Pakistan, Israel and other former suppliers.